Games of Nevada poker machine adds credits all by itself

[Shaggy]

Hi everyone, I know these machines are not too common, but I was wondering if anyone has run onto this anywhere else. Since I've had it occasionally it would add a credit ex. 8 would continue to 9 as the quarter dropped. Not a big deal as I'm the only who plays it. The last week or so it has started adding every time I put coins in. Usually just one but every time. Last night I played it one time and at the end of the game it immediately started adding credits. When it got to max bet of 10 it dealt the cards. You play like normal and if you don't win it starts adding just like you're putting coins in and deals the cards. You can discard just like normal and draw. If you hit a winner it pays out like normal then starts adding credits again and deals. I thought the small switch under the coin mech. might bad but it checked out good. I went ahead and removed it and checked it again. It's n/o when in "idle" position and actuating the arm is closed. Works fine. So I left it off turned the machine on and it played just the same. At games end it adds credits and here we go again. No coin comparitor just a regular mechanism. I put a pic of the switch on here but I'm sure that's not the problem. I can add more pics if needed. Any help would REALLY be appreciated. Thanks
Dave

[Shaggy]

Well I took the board out and guess what? A leaking blue Varta battery. Damage is a small area but definitely needs fixing. I added a pic so we'll see if we can get the old girl repaired. Hard to believe it was still working.

[Sunrise Side]

That acid may have ruined the IC sockets that are near it.

[Shaggy]

Crossing my fingers, doubt I'll find another. 

[Shaggy]

Got the board fixed and it works great. Nice to have it working again. It's one of my favorites.

[rgull77]

Hi, I have a poker machine similar to your Games Of Nevada. It has the same cabinet and it used to have a topper like yours. It is a Bell Fruit manufacturing Draw poker nickel machine (mfg. in Uk). I have owned the machine for over ten years. It's tour of duty was the El Rancho Hotel in Las Vegas from at least 1987 until it's closing in 1992 according to the payout cards inside. The game worked perfectly until recently.
Now, the game plays fine for a few minutes then the screen freezes and goes wacky. I pulled the board and noticed the same battery leakage as yours, although not as extensive, and I was wondering how you fixed your board, whether yourself or someone else.

Thank you in advance
Randy

[rgull77]

Forget the pic of the machine...

[rokgpsman]

If you have a soldering iron you can unsolder that old battery, heat up the battery legs on the backside of the board and carefully pull it out. Some people have had luck with breaking off the old battery mounting legs where they attach by a spot-weld to the battery by using a flat-blade screwdriver between the battery and the mount, carefully twist or pry to break the mount loose. Once the old battery body is removed then you can get the battery mounts off the board by unsoldering them.

For a replacement battery you can use any 3.6 volt battery that will fit, many of them come with long pigtails that can be soldered to the board.

In some cities there are places like Batteries Plus and they will remove and install a new battery for you, for a price.

If your machine does not require the battery then you can leave it off the board. But often it is needed and has to be replaced.

[Amechanic]

Your going to want to clean that battery acid off as soon as possible. You can clean it with a vinegar and water mix and a tooth brush. Rinse with water and let it dry for at least 24 hours. If you change out the battery, I'm thinking your problem should go away if the boards ok.

[Shaggy]

Randy, I sent mine in to K-Lar (one of our vendors on the top of the home page) and had it fixed there. That being said......while it was a bad situation with my board, it was not the cause of my troubles. After getting the board back and reinstalling, it worked great for about 6 months. Then out of the blue, it started doing the exact same thing again. Now I knew it couldn't be the battery because the board was fixed and the battery was new. Alan (from K-Lar) said to unplug all the connections to the board chassis and reconnect them, as it was likely an oxidized connection. There are a lot of connections on that chassis. I took each one loose and sprayed both the board connections and the wiring connections with contact cleaner thoroughly. I put it back together and it has been working perfect for 2½ years now. Your machine is very similar to mine (round buttons and all) and could be experiencing the same troubles. While I haven't taken it out to try this.....I don't think the battery on mine serves any purpose as to the running of the machine. That old battery was deader than a hammer and the machine worked. My machine has no settings that can be changed and it doesn't store credits so I don't think the battery is used for machine play. More likely casino use. When I get industrious, one of these days, I'll pull the board and remove it and see what happens.  Anyway that's my story on my machine. The acid damage on yours does need to be addressed though. Otherwise it will continue to spread (like an infection) and will ruin your board. I'm going to mark this topic unsolved and we'll work with yours. It's not like there are too many GON poker posts anyway. Keep us posted on your progress.

Dave

[rgull77]

Thank you everyone for your help. I will take everyone's advise and see how it goes. I'm a little worried because it is the monitor that is affected when it goes on the blink. But you never know, it could be one of the plugs that goes to the monitor.

Randy

[Shaggy]

Thank you everyone for your help. I will take everyone's advise and see how it goes. I'm a little worried because it is the monitor that is affected when it goes on the blink. But you never know, it could be one of the plugs that goes to the monitor.

Randy

Randy, absolutely fix the board. Get a new battery and go from there. Your machine has a lot more on screen than mine does. I'm guessing it's a few years newer. And with these machines, a few years can be a decade. Clean the connections and fix the board. If it works great, that's all you want anyway. Good luck.

Dave

[Amechanic]

I agree. If the screen problem continues, then Klar might be able to service the monitors power chassis.

[rgull77]

Hi again,
here's an update.
I got the board back all nice and fixed. I put it back in the machine, turned it on, immediate POP from the inside somewhere. Monitor never showed a screen. Waited a couple of seconds, then smoke came out. I unplugged the machine.
I pulled the monitor out. No apparent damage.
Pulled a unit from the side wall, sound board maybe, below the monitor, and found the culprit. Small eprom in the center. I'm not sure what it is but I'm guessing it isn't replaceable and even if it was, something made it blow.
I'm posting some pics anyway.
Certainly not the outcome I had hoped for....

It actually is replaceable, it's a voltage regulator. UA723CN.. Any thoughts why this blew?

[Badbaud]

That 723 chip is the regulator for your power supply. They do tend to POP! when they go bad or there is a old, dry, capacitor somewhere in the power supply section.
You may want to send the board to me so I can re-cap it and replace the regulator chip, then cross your fingers it wasn't something further back in the circuitry.

[Amechanic]

These are the problem you have to over come when your restoring an older video machine. Caps dry out and components go pop  but we move on if we want the game to work.

[rgull77]

That 723 chip is the regulator for your power supply. They do tend to POP! when they go bad or there is a old, dry, capacitor somewhere in the power supply section.
You may want to send the board to me so I can re-cap it and replace the regulator chip, then cross your fingers it wasn't something further back in the circuitry.

Badbaud,

Really? That would be fantastic! I would really appreciate that. Can you PM me with the address and cost? Would I send just the little board or the whole metal housing in the picture?
Do you think I should pull the games' power supply and visually check it? It's the only thing I haven't removed yet. It's way in the back behind the hopper.

Randy

[rgull77]

Just to update, efforts to fix the machine have failed and it is still not functioning.

I do have a question though, I was checking some voltages and at the taps on the transformer I get 16VAC, 16VAC and 33VAC. When I plug the Molex plug into the other unit the 33VAC changes to 59VAC at the tap on the transformer. The other voltages remain the same. These AC lines run to the fuses on that other unit, then the 15V lines go to the voltage regulator board (they in turn come out 21VDC). The 59VAC blows the fuse (1amp) but with a higher rated fuse, I can follow that 59VAC  directly to the Molex plug that leaves that unit and would, I imagine, continue on to the monitor. This is on the bench so there is nothing plugged into that plug at this time.

I guess I'm asking, does this sound normal? AC voltage changing from 33 to 59 volts at the transformer?
Just looking for any kind of basic knowledge of power supplies without getting game specific.
Thanks for any help
Randy